Water heaters can provide for the heating and storage of water to be used in e.g., a residential or commercial structure. Typically, a water tank is surrounded by a jacket and is insulated. A heat source is provided for raising the temperature of water in the tank. The heat energy may be supplied e.g., by gas burners, electrically-resistant coils, or a heat pump using a refrigerant cycle. The tank is commonly insulated along at least one the side walls to allow storage of the heated water until use. However, a significant heat loss can also occur through the bottom of the tank where insulation is sometimes not installed and where contact may be made directly with e.g., the ground, a concrete floor, or other surface that can conduct heat away from the tank.
A water heater is generally provided with an inlet for receipt of unheated water and with an outlet for delivery of heated water. During installation, the inlet and outlet are connected with e.g., the piping system of a residential or commercial structure. Depending upon the location of the inlet and outlet connections on the water heater, additional piping and/or modifications to the existing piping system may be necessary for both original installations as well as replacement installations in order to connect with such piping system. Furthermore, because the locations of the inlet and outlet may vary between different water heaters of the same capacity particularly when provided by different manufacturers, each installation can require different materials and configurations customized to such installation—thereby increasing the costs of the installation.
While water heaters can be provided in a variety of shapes and sizes, a typical shape includes an elongated cylindrical tank that is configured for a vertically upright position. However, the bottom of the tank may not be best suited for supporting the vertically upright position. This can be particularly true where weight is added to the top of the tank (such as a heating unit) and/or when the tank is not filled with water such as e.g., during installation or display in a retail location.
Accordingly, a water heater having one or more features that help insulate the bottom of the water tank would be useful. A water heater that can include a water inlet and outlet consistently positioned for connection to the piping system of e.g., commercial or residential structure would also be beneficial. Such a water heater that can also have features that improve its stability in the vertically-upright position would also be useful.